Thanks for the information everyone. The town calls it a 2 bedroom. With a room that small, there's no chance of putting a closet in there, so I figured it's not really a bedroom. I know that building code calls for a minimum of 70 sqft, so I didn't know if appraisers followed the same guidelines.

Chris (sorry to jump on your post as well Ryan),
Thanks for recognizing me! And for the compliments. If you ask 5 appraisers, you'll get 5 different answers, no doubt. Sometimes if you need to call it a bedroom (like if all 3 bedrooms have no closets and you can't call it a 0 bedroom), an appraiser might make a $500 (or so) adjustment per bedroom for "functional utility" and call it the price to put it a closet in that bedroom. Pretty universally, if the bedroom empties into another bedroom we can't call it a bedroom. Must open into a common area (hall, den, etc...). Need to see a full-size window in there and need to be "mostly" above grade. Like I said Chris, it varies from individual to individual.

What does the Town of Marshfield call the home? Glad I'm considered helpful and sorry again Ryan for stomping on your post. As an appraiser, it sounds like you're looking at a 1 bedroom home.

Mike

Question for Mike. (Sorry to jump on your post Ryan!)
Mike,
You are an excellent resource here and always helpful in your responses. Do appraisers have a "standard" that they must follow in determining whether a room is a bedroom? I have an antique listing in Marshfield that has two bedrooms with no closets. The appraisal the seller gave me includes these two rooms as bedrooms. But you say that without closets they are not bedrooms. Is it possible two different appraisers could come up with a different bedroom count for the same property?

Thanks for your help!
Chris

Ryan,
As an appraiser, we want to see (1) a closet, (2) a "normal" size window (not a basement-type window), (3) egress into a common area (can't go through another bedroom to get to it) and (4) above grade. Size doesn't matter so much, so although 9x7 is small, if all the other conditions were present, I would call it a bedroom.

Hope that helps.

All My Best,
Mike

Hi Ryan,
Melissa pretty much covered it. If you'd like to email me directly with the address I will send you the public record for the property. However, the public record isn't always correct so you should verify it with the town. I work and live in Marshfield if I can be of any help.
Chris Head

Hi Ryan,

Short & Simple...The three main things are: does it have an egress (exit)? Is the room "above grade"? And if the home has a septic, it must be designed to handle two bedrooms.

Building code today say there needs to be a closet and have minimum square footage requirements. But, if the home was built prior to this, then it could be grandfathered in.

These requirements can change from town to town, but this is basically what I have come across in MA. The town hall is your best source for your answer.

Best of Luck!
~M